Arkansas State Trooper 'Doing Well' After Traffic Stop Shooting

ROCKPORT, AR — An Arkansas state trooper is recovering after a driver shot him during a traffic stop in Rockport over the weekend. Trooper Kyle Sheldon, a married father of two young children, was hospitalized after the shooting Sunday night on U.S. Highway 270, near Interstate 30.

Sheldon had asked the driver, later identified as Elsbeth Tresa Kittinger, to step outside of the vehicle. That's when police say she opened fire on him.

Malvern police officers nearby fired back at Kittinger, who drove off in a pickup truck, troopers said. The officers fired again at Kittinger as she fled, roughly five miles away from the initial shooting scene.

Kittinger, 49, of Fort Worth, Texas, was sent to a hospital for a gunshot wound and was later released into the custody of law enforcement officers. She was held at the Garland County Detention Center.

Sheldon, 30, is"doing well" and recovering from a successful surgery, state police said in a Facebook post.

"Trooper Sheldon is a fighter, and has done nothing but prove he is ready to get back home to his family and back on the road with his partners," the post said.

Sheldon has a long recovery ahead of him and many people have reached out asking how they can help. State police say an account has been set up for Sheldon and his family at Arvest Bank.

"You can go to any Arvest Bank across the state and ask to donate to the “Kyle Sheldon Contribution Account,”" the post said.

He and his family will receive 100 percent of the donations.

"We ask that you please keep Trooper Sheldon and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this time of healing and recovery," the post said.

It wasn't immediately clear what charges Kittinger faces.

Photos credit: Arkansas State Police, Garland County Detention Center